Congratulations on passing the NCLEX examination! It shows that you are committed to being the best in your nursing field and are now ready to step into the area as a professional where you can be the best version of yourself and excel further. But the last step you still have to go through is the interview. There are some basic ethics and procedures that you must follow, and anyone with experience in giving interviews can guide you well.
When it comes to nursing-related questions, they will be about testing your knowledge and showing your abilities and how you are going to interact with patients. As an inspiring nurse, you are familiar with how you work around, but it is always better to be prepared in advance to expect what is coming and answer according to that. Here are some of the possible questions, along with suitable answers.
1. Can You Work In A Team With A Lot of Nurses, Doctors, And Other Staff?
Teamwork is a must-have skill for anyone willing to join the medical field. During my clinical training, I learned how important it is to communicate with fellow nurses during shifts and patient conditions. I believe collaborating with co-nurses can help you get the patient outcome. For me, teamwork is also essential as it ensures the effectiveness of patient care.
2. What Would You Do To Handle A Difficult Patient?
As a nurse, I believe showing patience and empathy is essential. Patients are not in the hospital by choice but due to unforeseen circumstances. As an initial step, I will always ensure it will be all right. I once dealt with a 12-yeard old patient suffering from an infection. The children called me several times into the room as he was feeling pain and uncomfortable. Despite attending to other patients, I didn’t ignore him, went in every time, talked about his favorite pet, snacks, etc., and he felt at ease.
3. Nursing Is A Stressful Job; How Will You Handle That?
It’s normal to feel work pressure when you must attend to multiple tasks simultaneously. I think it’s essential to have a clear mindset about how you will deal with the emotional and physical aspects of the job. I attended a seminar where I was motivated by the speaker’s words, encouraging the nurses to maintain a healthy diet plan, exercise, and be interested in some hobbies to reduce work stress. I liked her advice, and now I collect post stamps from different countries to keep the pressure under control.
4. Your Replacement Is late, What Will You Do?
It’s a standard procedure that nurses stay at the hospital until the next nurse arrives. I agree that shift changes exist to ensure the work is not hindered and there are no lapses in attending to patients. In such a scenario, I would contact the upcoming nurse to check whether she is late so I can wait for some extra time, or maybe I will find out if another nurse is available and ready to cover. As a last resort, I can call on the supervisor to see if the supervisor can do something.
5. How Do You Plan To Handle Disagreements With The Doctor?
Well, this is a professional field, and everyone is acting in their best capacity to serve patients. When it comes to doctors, they deal with the patient as per their knowledge, and the best a nurse can offer to doctors is being a facilitator. Furthermore, a doctor can be wrong about some prescription or might forget the advice they gave to the patient, so here, as a nurse, I can probably intervene politely and point out the discrepancy as it concerns the patient.
6. How Do You Plan To Manage A Busy Workload?
As a nurse, one should be ready for a busy workload because this is what the job requires. I have been in a situation where we were understaffed, and I managed my workload quite efficiently. Not only that, I stayed a bit longer to lend a helping hand to the upcoming shift as well. So, I always manage to work actively during busy workloads.
There are many other similar questions that you should expect and be ready to answer. The best practice is to familiarize yourself with the job role, take copies of your credentials and educational record, maybe perform a mock interview with your friends, and, most important, arrive a little early on the day of a job interview. Always remember, your confidence and ability to be precise about what you will do will get you selected!
